Ligue 1: Once Again Worrying in the Second Half against Angers, PSG Kept Playing with Their Luck.

PSG narrowly secured a victory against Angers in a lackluster match, but they faced some tense moments in the second half. [expander_maker id=”1″ ] This has become a recurring theme for the Parisian club in recent matches. At the end of the match, the relief-filled hug between Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma was worth more than words.

They had been leading 2-0 and seemed to have the game under control against Angers on Friday, April 21, but they gradually lost their momentum and completely relaxed upon their return from the locker room.

They eventually conceded a goal in the final minutes of the game (87th minute), leading to a tension-filled end. This has been a problem that the Parisian club has faced in all their recent games, raising questions about the state of mind within the team, merely seven rounds from the end of the season.

In the second half, Paris struggled in several areas of the game against the bottom team of the championship. The men of Christophe Galtier held the ball without really using it, allowing the valiant Angers players to besiege them. The men of Alexandre Dujeux had twice as many shots on target during the last 45 minutes (nine versus four) as their opponents, with twice as many successful shots on goal (two versus one).

“A problem for our team”

This problem was recognized by the Parisians during the match analysis. “We managed to widen the score, and we relaxed too much in the second half,” said captain Marquinhos, according to Prime Video just after the match. “We shouldn’t let the prospect of winning lower our standards. It’s a problem for our team.” After a strong first half around the 70th minute of play, with a proliferation of corners, the SCO’s players took advantage of Paris’s hesitancy, notably Marquinhos, Sergios Ramos, and Fabian Ruiz, to reduce the lead, thanks to Sada Thioub (88th minute). This action worried Christophe Galtier on the sideline. “I see that the second half could turn against us, we conceded a goal in the 88th minute, and you never know how it’s going to end,” he said during a post-match press conference.

Already a disappointing 45 minutes against Lens and Nice

The Parisian club has been playing with fire in their second halves for a few weeks now. Last weekend against Lens, they also struggled upon their return from the locker room, despite a three-goal lead. Despite being a player down since the 19th minute, the Parisians conceded a penalty on a handball in the box and a goal. Gianluigi Donnarumma then had to work hard to repel the Sang et Or’s attempts.

The same scenario occurred a week earlier against Nice. After scoring the leading goal, PSG experienced a fifteen-minute slump in the second half. Dante had almost equalized, while Donnarumma had made seven decisive saves to keep his goal uncrossed.

“I am not satisfied at all with the second half, just as I was not last Saturday against Lens […] When you are the coach of PSG, you cannot be satisfied with playing one half per game,” said Christophe Galtier during the post-match press conference. The coach didn’t blame arrogance for these shortcomings but “mental fatigue,” managing several goals ahead “while preserving ball possession.” While attempting to explain, he didn’t absolve them, as he concluded, “The players must show a different face for the duration of the match.”[/expander_maker]